Strawberry Shortcakes and a Bit of Whipped Cream
by Smashly
Summary: During the Maurader's 7th year, romance turns up in unlikely places while old friendships relish and others fade. No slash, sorry. OC characters.
1. Greetings and Salutations

The sun outside was shining brightly with scattered marshmallow colored clouds in the sky. It was September first and James, Sirius, Peter, Lily and Remus were all in a compartment aboard the Hogwarts express. It was their seventh and final year at Hogwarts and according to Sirius it was time to, "Celebrate! Come on, this is our last year. After this we're all finally free of school." Sirius had reached six foot last year and seemed that he wasn't getting any bigger. Unlike his best friend, James, his black hair was longer and hung around his face which he flipped around, whenever given the chance sporting his electric blue eyes.  
  
"I don't know, I'm going to miss it a little," Lily said. She was much shorter than James and Sirius and quite a contrast. Her eyes were a bright green, matching the smile that was always on her face with dark red hair that hung past her shoulders.  
  
"Of course you would, but I'm talking about the rest of us," Sirius said.  
  
"The slackers," James said grinning. James was almost identical to Sirius, but his eyes were a light chocolate color that caused girls to melt when he smiled. His body had toned up quite a bit from his Quidditch games which he showed off any chance he could.  
  
"Yet still manage to get top grades," Peter said with disappointment. Peter differed from his friends. He was short, standing at only five-two with small shiny blue eyes and a plumped figure. Besides that, he always struggled with his work at school and wasn't all that popular.  
  
"And now is your year to do better and cause as much trouble as possible! We have to make our mark," Sirius said.  
  
"Of course," James said. Lily elbowed him in the gut and he cursed loudly. "Actually, I regret to inform you that I may not participate this year in our annual pranks."  
  
"Oh hell, Lily, do you really think that you're going to keep him from doing what he does best?"  
  
"What he does best, Sirius Black, his play Quidditch and get good grades in class. What you do best, on the other hand, I think we all have yet to figure out," Lily said in her argue-with-me-and-die voice.  
  
James and Lily had been going at for the summer and Lily had kept him from being his usual mischievous self over that time period. It was lucky for Sirius that Lily wasn't around all the time and what she didn't know, wouldn't hurt her.  
  
"What about you Remus? You agree with me, of course," Sirius said with an expectant look on his face.  
  
Remus looked up calmly from the large book in his lap. He had acquired glasses over the summer, something that James and Sirius wouldn't let down. He had also grown much taller and now tied back his blondish brown hair, "Hm?"  
  
"Well, while you were off not paying attention to your important friends, we were discussing what's to be done this year," Sirius said, stepping closer.  
  
"Don't fall for it Remus, you're better than that," Lily said.  
  
Remus went slightly pink in the face. She always had a way to charm both Remus and Peter, but Sirius wouldn't give in.  
  
"Well this is our last and most important year," Remus said.  
  
"I don't even want to hear about it, Remus," Sirius said, turning around and sitting in the seat defeated.  
  
"Well, like I said," Remus said, eyeing his friend oddly. "It is our last year and we should definitely make good of it, not bad."  
  
Sirius grinned and folded his arms leaning against the seat. The compartment door opened and two other girls came inside. Lily looked over and smiled.  
  
"Absynthe and Kia! What brings you here?" Lily said, detaching herself from James.  
  
"Well since that Potter boy stole you away from us, we've come to visit you," Absynthe said calmly, folding her arms to her chest. She and Kia were Lily's best friends. Absynthe was taller than both girls, standing near six foot. She had uneven cut hair that reached to her chin which was dyed a violent shade of violet and her eyes were grayish blue. She already had on her school robes with a crest of Ravenclaw by her chest and large combat boots.  
  
"I love how you talk about me as if I'm not here," James cut in, putting his arm back around Lily.  
  
"And I love that if you're left out of the conversation for two seconds you think the world will fall apart," Absynthe snapped.  
  
"Why don't the both of you leave, there isn't enough room anyways," James said. Lily smacked him hard against the head.  
  
"Don't listen to him," she said.  
  
"I agree," Sirius said, smiling. "Kia, you can sit next to me."  
  
"Bite me, Black," Kia said, sticking up her chin. Kia was between Lily and Peter in height. Her robes and her scarf sported Gryffindor colors which matched her strawberry blonde hair that she wore in a messy bun on the top of her head. It was a known fact that Kia wore contacts because her eye color changed every week. Now, her eyes were a light shade of pink.  
  
Kia walked past Sirius and sat down next to Peter, folding her arms up against her chest. Absynthe sat across from Remus, against the window.  
  
"Your hair looks nice, Aby," Lily said.  
  
"Thank you for noticing, Lil," Absynthe added loudly.  
  
"Oh get over it," Kia said sharply. She turned to Lily, "She's still ticked that I didn't notice her precious new hair color. Not like it matters, you change it every week."  
  
The train pulled up slowly to the station and after a brief stop, allowed the students to step down. Sirius came down with his arms wide open and breathed in deep. James and Lily seemed to be permanently attached to each other followed by an annoyed looking Absynthe.  
  
"Any more of this and I just may puke," she hissed loudly.  
  
Kia walked up next to her friend and leaned in toward her ear. "Well you better get used to it; it looks as though it just might last."  
  
Absynthe moaned and strode off towards the castle. Remus walked quietly through the crowd, getting easily between his fellow classmates. Peter on the other hand was having some trouble and collided face first with Kia's back, nearly throwing her face first.  
  
"Oh, watch it," Kia said harshly. She turned around and helped a red faced Peter up.  
  
"Th-thanks," he mumbled.  
  
"No problem," she said and turned back to Lily. "She needs an attitude change. She's been like this all summer, it's getting unbearable."  
  
"I know, she's just a little upset," Lily said casually.  
  
"A little? She's ready to break James' neck," Kia said.  
  
"Well that's appealing," James laughed.  
  
"Who's this?" Remus asked quietly.  
  
"Geez Remus, the person we've been talking about for nearly five minuets now. She's kind of hard to miss, Absynthe," Sirius said, slapping Remus on the back.  
  
"Oh, her," Remus said.  
  
"Yes her," Sirius snarled. "Don't worry about, she'll get over it."  
  
"How would you know?" Lily asked, turning sharply.  
  
"We're neighbors, or used to be. I used to play with her when I was a kid, she actually has natural blonde hair," Sirius said with a mischievous grin on his lips.  
  
"No? She never told me that," Lily said, frowning.  
  
"Oh we stopped talking completely since we got into Hogwarts. I don't know, it just stopped," Sirius dug his hands into his pockets and walked in front of the group.  
  
"A man in deep though," James commented as his friend walked away.  
  
"What?"  
  
"He does that when he's actually thinking and I mean, really thinking," James said.  
  
"So, not very often then?" Lily laughed.  
  
The Great Hall was as magnificent as ever and so was the feast. After, Absynthe joined up with the group for a moment only to take off again with a small wave. James bid farewell to Lily with a kiss, which cued Sirius to make grotesque faces behind their backs leaving Peter giggling.  
  
"I don't know about those two," James said, crawling into his bed.  
  
"Who?" Remus asked.  
  
"Kia and Absynthe. It seems as if we have an extra two to our group," James frowned.  
  
"Three," Sirius said.  
  
"Three?"  
  
"Lily is new as well," Sirius said.  
  
"Yeah, well she's Lily," James said. He rolled over grinning.  
  
"I don't know if I mind all that much. Besides, I kind of like Kia, she's nice," Peter said, blushing. "Ooh, Peter has a crush," Sirius teased.  
  
"Shut up," Peter said and threw a pillow at him.  
  
"Starting that again are we?" Sirius growled with a smile teasing his lips.  
  
The night faded away with feathers and playful screams of laughter. In another a girl smiled endless as she dreamed of black haired boys. One was restless, turned hopelessly over inviting dreams, though none turned up and another had a small smile hidden in the darkness. 


	2. Heated Conversations and Get To Know You

The great hall was engulfed in sunlight, the next morning and the busy chatter of its student's echoed throughout.  
  
"I don't know, Lily. She hasn't said a word all morning," Kia said, quickly glancing at the Ravenclaw table. James, Lily, and Remus had already sat down. James was leaning precariously over his food, his eyes drooping with last nights sleep. Kia and Lily had already drunk a full mug of coffee and sitting quite fine in their seats.  
  
"Trust me, she'll be over here, she's just eating," Lily yawned.  
  
Kia frowned and picked at the eggs in front of her. Sirius and Peter came in through the doors and sat down at the table. Sirius had a broad grin spread on his face while Peter looked less than thrilled.  
  
"Good morning," Sirius said brightly.  
  
"What's good about it," James said, grumpily.  
  
"The sun is shining, breakfast smells delicious," Sirius grinned.  
  
"And we have Potions next," Peter said, glumly.  
  
"So, it isn't all that bad," Sirius said.  
  
"With Slytherin's," James retorted.  
  
"Never mind," Sirius said, slumping back into his seat, his grin fading.  
  
"Potion's isn't all that bad, I think it's rather fun," Kia said.  
  
"It isn't when you're terrible at it," Peter said.  
  
"Well, then I'll help you," Kia said and sipped from her orange juice.  
  
Peter went pink in the face.  
  
"Hello all," a certain purple haired girl said, sitting down in an open seat next to Remus.  
  
"Absynthe! I mean- uh," Kia exclaimed, but quickly changed her attitude with all seriousness, "What brings you here."  
  
"Oh shut up," Absynthe said.  
  
"Good morning Aby," Sirius said.  
  
"What did you just call me?" Absynthe asked, turning her head sharply towards him, confused.  
  
Sirius looked slightly put back, he had expected her to remember, but then again... "I used to call you that all the time, back when we were kids."  
  
Absynthe gaped at him, unable to gather anything to say. Luckily, Lily spoke for her. "So," she said, changing the subject, "feeling any better?"  
  
"Slightly," Absynthe replied, but not forgetting to cast a dark look towards James first. "Well, what classes have you first?"  
  
"Potions," Kia said, brightly. Absynthe looked around at the table of glum faces and suppressed and quiet laugh. "What about you?"  
  
"Muggle Studies," Absynthe replied.  
  
"I do too," Remus said, shutting his book.  
  
"Wait, what?" Sirius said, glaring at his friend. "What about Potions? Don't tell me you dropped it."  
  
Remus had a guilty look on his face, but nodded his head.  
  
"Oh come on! You were the decent once among us, what are we going to now!" Sirius said, banging his forehead on the table.  
  
"We always have Kia," Lily said. Sirius kept his head on the table and groaned again. Lily frowned and stood up, "Come on, we'll be late." She grabbed Kia by the wrist and led her away from the table.  
  
Absynthe was smiling brightly once again, holding her hand to her mouth, trying not to laugh.  
  
"Ah, dammit. Now you've upset her," James moaned and left to follow her.  
  
"That's pathetic," Absynthe commented.  
  
"How so?" Remus asked.  
  
"Well, they've been dating for a few months and already they're acting like a married couple. It's just sad," Absynthe replied.  
  
"I suppose, but at least you can tell they're in love," Remus said.  
  
"Yes, that's wonderful," Absynthe frowned. "Well, I'm off to class."  
  
She stood up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall. She made her way through a long and empty hallway and sighed. This wasn't going to change, James and Lily's fling. She was starting to realize it was more than a fling and it depressed her greatly. She always had Lily to depend on since they were younger, what now? It seemed that she was ripped from everyone, even since she was a child.  
  
"Oy, Aby!" a voice called.  
  
"Speaking of children," Absynthe mumbled to herself. She turned around to see Sirius hurrying up the hall to meet her. "Didn't I make it clear I didn't want you to call me that?"  
  
"Actually," Sirius said, speaking in short breaths, "you didn't specifically said 'Sirius don't call me Aby.'"  
  
"Sirius, don't call me Aby," Absynthe replied, turning around again.  
  
"Wait, I wanted to talk to you," Sirius said.  
  
"So talk," Absynthe continued to walk.  
  
"Well, it's just that we haven't said much to each other since we got here, and I well, I kind of missed that," Sirius said, running his hand through his hair.  
  
Absynthe stopped. "That, Sirius Black, is your fault. I tried talking to you, but you, Mr. I'm-too-good-to-hang-around-girls ran off with Potter. So, don't try to turn the tables on this. Now, I have to go to class."  
  
"It wasn't," Sirius began but was interrupted by footsteps.  
  
They both looked to see Remus heading down the hallway, carrying his book, looking towards the ground. He looked up surprised to see his friend. "Sirius? I thought you were supposed to be in the Dungeons?"  
  
"I was just walking there," Sirius said, glumly, turning and walking the other way.  
  
Remus and Absynthe began to walk to their class, both of them silent. "So, what are you taking this class, I thought your parents were muggles?" Absynthe asked, suddenly.  
  
Remus smiled a look of sadness crossed his face, "No, my parents have magic blood in them."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that in a bad way," Absynthe said, looking at his face, unable to read his emotions.  
  
"Quite alright. What about you? Muggle family or not?" Remus inquired.  
  
Absynthe snorted. "Actually, I come from one of those pure blood is all that matters families. They were 'highly displeased' that I was put into Ravenclaw, thinking I should be in Slytherin. But it's not that they're death eaters, they just think Slytherin is for the classy life. I don't know," she sighed.  
  
"Family?" Remus added.  
  
"Yeah, they're quite a handful sometimes," Absynthe smiled.  
  
Remus nodded as they entered the classroom. 


	3. Snowflake Lovebirds

It was now nearing Christmas and Absynthe was nearly pulling her now blue hair, out left and right. Sirius had seemed to take a sudden interest in her and would show up out of nowhere around every corner.

Absynthe was walking to the courtyard where she was meeting Kia and Lily. They were going to Hogsmeade together and had somehow managed to go without Lily's second half. Abysnthe pulled her Ravenclaw scarf closer attempting to keep as much warmth near her as possible. At last she could see Lily's vibrant red hair amongst all the piercing white.

"Thank god," Abysnthe sighed out of breath.

"Hm?" Kia asked distracted by a group of people having a snow fight over by a tree.

"Sirius." Absynthe said seriously, "I'm proud of myself, it's been four whole hours since I last ran into him."

"Strange, something must be up," Lily said with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Exactly," Absynthe agreed.

"Absynthe! You're taking this way too seriously, he's just trying to be nice, invite you into the group," Lily said.

Absynthe rolled her eyes, "Look can we just get going before your puppy dog or my stalker come running up out of nowhere?"

"Yeah, it is rather chilly," Kia added.

"Fine, fine," Lily said.

They started their way to the busy little town. It was mainly packed with other students, in and out of stores, either warming up or getting last minute Christmas gifts. Kia pointed to the Three Broomsticks where the heat seemed to be calling to passerby's. They got a small table near a dark quiet table and ordered drinks.

"So are you going home for the holidays?" Lily asked, turning to Kia.

Kia shook her head, "Nah, I think I'll spend this Christmas here, after all, it is our last year. Besides, it's not like we're doing anything special at home."

"Yeah, me neither. Absynthe?" Lily asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I got a letter the other day from my brother, he's really sick again but I hate seeing him like that," Absynthe sighed.

"Shouldn't you be supportive?" Kia said looking over her mug of butterbeer.

"Listen, you don't know the situation, so don't judge," Absynthe snapped.

Kia rolled her eyes while Lily elbowed her, "Why again isn't he at Hogwarts?"

"They wanted him to be in a warmer environment, so he goes to a school in the south," Absynthe said. She got up out of her seat and looked out the window and sighed. "I'll probably just stay here, my parents are getting worse after all. I'll see you later, I have to go pick some stuff up." She hurriedly escaped into the cold before Lily or Kia could say a word.

"She's getting weird," Lily commented.

"Getting weird? Where have you been," Kia laughed.

Absynthe kept her face down most of the way, the freezing cold breeze was stinging her face. She wasn't really going to pick anything up, she was in fact going to shrieking shack. Not exactly inside, but it's borders. There was a small bench where she liked to go and think. Not many people came by there due to the rumors of it being haunted, but she could care less. She stared at the ground below her, frozen and dead. Several footprints lingered, reveling only frozen mud, no grass lived through the cold winter.

Suddenly she felt an instant of warmth as she ran into something. No, someone. She looked up to be staring into the pink face, red nosed Remus.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't really paying attention," Absynthe said, feeling an embarrassed warmth sneak into her cheeks.

"It's quite alright, neither was I," Remus laughed, "Where are you heading?"

"Oh, just the borders of the shrieking shack," she said.

"Mind if I join you?" Remus asked.

Absynthe just shook her head and walked on. Remus kept to her right and she felt somewhat warmer and relieved. For a moment she thought it might have been Sirius she ran into and now Remus was blocking some of the cold breeze. She saw the old bench up ahead and cleared off the excess snow and sat down, Remus followed.

"Are you staying over the holidays?" Remus asked casually.

"I really haven't decided, honestly," Abysnthe said.

"Times running out," he said.

"Yeah I know. It's just really complicated," Absynthe sighed.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how?" Remus said.

"Well, it's my brother. I'm actually a twin, he's five minutes younger than I am and he has a horrible immune system. My parents sent him over the States where there's a warmer climate year round, but he still gets real sick," Absynthe said.

"That's terrible," Remus said, looking down to the ground, feeling sorry he even brought it up.

"Needless to say he's sick again and wants to come home for the holidays. But my parents are crazy. I'm sure they'll have some pompous suitor visiting, hoping I'll fall madly in love and be married after school," Absynthe laughed.

"They sound a little strange," Remus said.

"You have no idea, I won't even let Lily or Kia over to visit," Absynthe sighed. She leaned back until she fell into the snow bank, small snowflakes falling over her pink face.

"What on earth are you doing?" Remus asked with a smile.

"I like the cold, to tell you the truth. I think besides autumn, winter is by far the season that holds the most beauty," Absynthe said.

"Ironic how it's the dead season," Remus said.

"Very," Absynthe smiled. She grabbed a hold of Remus' jacked and pulled him down next to her. They laid in the snow for a little while, just admiring the white blanket falling on them. Absynthe closed her eyes and Remus sat up.

"Absynthe?" Remus said.

"Hm?" Absynthe mumbled.

"Can you keep a secret?" Remus asked lowering his voice.

"What's that?" Absynthe asked, still keeping her eyes closed.

"I've had thing for you since our fifth year when you first dyed you hair blue. The color brought out your eyes immensely and well, you were always beautiful, but there was something about the way you let yourself stand out and didn't mind. I respected that a lot," Remus said.

Absynthe kept her eyes close for a minute or two, Remus kept glancing nervously at her. Finally she smiled at opened her eyes.

"I have to admit, I only just started liking you this year. I always hated James and Sirius, biggest prats this century, so I thought you were just the same. But I was wrong," Absynthe said. Remus smiled, "By the way, you should do that more often."

"Absynthe?" Remus said.

"Yes," Absynthe said.

"We probably shouldn't tell anyone, I'm afraid that some parties might freak," Remus said while running his hands through his snow covered hair.

"I agree," Absynthe smiled.

Remus wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. She was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted while she thought to herself that this was probably by far the best thing that had ever happened to her. They sat together in the snow for a moment or two longer before they finally got up and headed back to castle where they would pretend nothing happened.

Authors note: I realize this is rather soap operary, but I like it just the same. I apologize if it seems a bit off at all, it's been nearly two years since I last wrote this and I just haven't found time since I left highschool. Imagine that? After all the time I spent trying to get out, I want back in...

Anyways, as some of you might have noticed, Absynthe and Remus have started a little love affair and I have to say the next little lovebirds are not who you expect. Take care.


	4. Dances and Tears

"Are you going?"

Absynthe turned her head slightly to Lily, who was holding an elegant white dress in front of a mirror, turning to different sides, and raising her eyebrows to different expressions with each turn.

She was talking about the upcoming Yule dance that took place before all the students went home for the holidays. Absynthe sighed. She really wasn't sure if she would go, or lounge around her common room while the rest of her classmates danced and laughed the night away. She would have liked to go with Remus, but as they had not yet told anyone about "them", not to mention he wasn't even going, she wasn't sure if there was a point to it at all. He gave no real reason as to why he wouldn't be attending, but he did start to look rather sickly, so she didn't push the issue.

"Not sure," Absynthe mumbled, leaning against the sink.

Lily tossed the dress over the doors to one of the stalls and put her hands to hips. Kia and Abysnthe both shook their head. Whenever she did that, it reminded them of a housewife that had waited all night for her husband to show up and when he did he smelled intensely of booze, "Not sure? Oh you are sure, because you're going. I don't even know why I asked., what else would you do?"

"She has a valid point," Kia added.

"Well, I was just thinking about lounging around the common room, catch up on reading or something," Absynthe lied.

"You hate to read," Kia exclaimed.

"No, you're going. I will not allow one of my best friends to sit alone, you'll have fun, I promise," Lily said. She picked up the dress and walked out of the bathroom before Absynthe could have another word.

"She's right, ya know?" Kia smiled and followed Lily.

"Of course she is," Absynthe mumbled to herself. However, she wasn't really sure about it. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Then a thought came to her head. James was going with Lily, Remus wasn't going, Sirius was going stag, so who was Kia going with? She hadn't bothered to ask, but now that she thought about it, Kia would never go without a date. She ran out the bathroom and tagged Kia and Lily walking toward their common room. "Hang on a sec, Lily and James are going together, but who are you going with?"

Kia turned for a second, her cheeks turning pink, "It's a surprise."

Kia stepped out the portrait hole, wearing a long bubble-gum pink dress that fit every curve to her body. She had to hem it up earlier as it even longer when she bought it. For the first time in public since before she could remember, she left her hair down, it lightly curled around her shoulders.

Peter was standing in black dress robes, and despite himself his jaw dropped. He had always thought Kia was pretty, but had never seen her like this, he wasn't even sure if he could bring himself to speak. Why had she said yes? She could have gone with anyone else, but that thought also gave him strength. She could have gone with anyone, but she chose him.

"You look... beautiful, if that even justifies it," Peter said, surprising himself for not stumbling over his own words.

Kia's face went pink, "Thank you, shall we go?"

He linked his arm around hers and they started to the Great Hall.

Luckily for Abysnthe, she had packed a dress just incase she had decided to go, or forced against her will. It was blue and laced up tight around her top half and bushed out past her waist. The most she could do with her hair was put into tiny pigtails. After standing in front of the mirror, and everyone in her room and already left, she finally ventured her way to the Great Hall. It looked beautiful, the ceiling was made to look like snow was falling around them and everything seemed to sparkle and shimmer. When she arrived, Lily and James were already on the dance floor, completely engrossed in each other and Kia was attempting to dance with Peter. Absynthe did a double take. Peter? When had this happened? Kia was moving graceful as usual, but Peter hadn't gotten the feel for it just yet, however they both had huge grins on their face. Absynthe was a little disappointed. Sure she would have fun while everyone else was ignoring her, too into their wonderful dates.

"Finally, a pretty face," a voice said behind her.

'Great,' Absynthe thought, 'stalker boy.'

She faked a smile and turned to see Sirius standing behind her, with his usual grin looking actually quite handsome. She could feel her normally pale face creep with a warmth and just got warmer at the thought of it.

"Just the reaction I was looking for," Sirius said with a slight laugh. He held out his hand, "Care for a dance?"

"Actually, I would rather not," Absynthe recovered as quickly as she could. How could she be thinking the things she was? Sirius Black good looking? Never. He was a conceited little prick that she used to play in the sand with. Besides, if only Remus was here, these awful thoughts wouldn't be here.

She turned her back and sat down at an empty table and put her chin in the palm of her hand. Of course she shouldn't have come, damn Lily for ever convincing her that this would be fun.

"Ah come on, just one dance," Sirius said, following Absynthe to the table. He was still standing, holding out his hand.

Absynthe looked over her shoulder and once again saw James, Lily, Kia and Peter all enjoying themselves and then noticed the horde of girls standing in a group staring over at Sirius, drooling like the dogs they were. At least she could a laugh at pissing them off. "Why the hell not."

Absynthe stood up and took Sirius' hand. The minute she grabbed his hand, something inside of her melted. She knew she shouldn't feel this way but something felt too right. Sirius wouldn't be afraid to tell anyone how he felt, no matter the circumstances, so why should Remus. It was a thought that bothered her day and night. Sure she agreed, but at the same time, why? Why did he still have to be distant. If you cared about someone, shouldn't you at least trust your friends in knowing?

To her surprise, Sirius moved easily, he definitely knew what he was doing. I guess that just comes with large rich families. Absynthe herself, had attended more balls then she cared to remember. Her mother had always taught her the proper etiquette that a young lady needed in front of large groups of people. Absynthe always hated it, why should she care what others thought of her? If they didn't want to get to know the real her, then it was their own damn fault. She wasn't about to perform tricks for people she didn't know just so they would like her. The only thing she did get out of all her lessons was learning to dance. She never minded dancing, as long as it was with the right person and Sirius was definitely the right kind of guy to dance with.

"You know this is nothing more than a dance, right?" Absynthe leaned in to say.

He put his lips right next to her ear, making her feel even more uncomfortable yet at ease, then she already was, "Of course."

And then, as if to damn what she had just spoken, the music had slowed down to a crawl. She looked to see James and Lily in a tight embrace, Lily's head resting on James' shoulder looking at complete ease. Sirius put his arms around her neck, as if somehow knowing Absynthe wouldn't allow anything closer.

"You said one dance, this is a second," Absynthe muttered.

"So I lied," Sirius simply said, a smile on his lips.

Absynthe couldn't resist, she put her arms around his waist, respectfully, just the way her mother had taught her. However, as the song progressed, Sirius moved closer and closer, and Absynthe's grip became tighter and tighter until you would have thought they were dating. The song's beat was back into the normal rhythm and everyone around them were dancing at a much faster pace, everyone except them. Absynthe had her eyes close and somehow she was completely at peace. This felt normal to her, as weird as it sounded. She was a complete hypocrite, she knew it, but it just felt right.

'I wonder what it is that Remus is doing...' she thought.

Remus.

Absynthe snapped back, "I have to go."

She turned away without allowing Sirius to say anything, if he did she just might stay and she couldn't do that. She went out through the huge doors and kept going till she was standing out in the actual snow, where real snowflakes were quickly gathering around her face. Tears were rolling down her face by now and she wasn't really sure why. She wasn't sure about anything right now, her entire body shivered, but she couldn't move. She was too afraid that he followed her. If she turned around he would be standing there and would want to know why she freaked out and ran off. What could she tell him when she didn't even know herself? But the cold began to overwhelm her and she was just getting wetter by the minute. As she turned, her fears came true. Sirius was standing on the top step, his hands deep inside the pockets of his robe, but he still had that damned smile on his face.

"It's very pretty out here, cold, but pretty." Was all he said. She made a motion to go around him, but one of his hands slipped out the pocket and wrapped around her arm. She stood completely frozen as the ground itself. Sirius pulled her closer to him, "You might catch a cold."

Tears began to fall down her face again. Inside she kicked herself for showing emotion like this. The only other people she cried in front of were Lily and Kia. She hadn't even cried in front of her own mother, it was proper, after all. Sirius reached with his other hand and wiped away the tears.

"It's okay, you know? You can care about someone, you can open up, the world won't judge you as hard as you think. You might find they find extremely beautiful and charming and the girl of their dreams," he said quietly.

He leaned his head down to hers and kissed her. She felt immediately warm inside and found herself liking this feeling and was kissing him back. Then Remus crept into her confused mind again and she pulled away and ran to her Common Room. She had no idea what to feel, what was right and what was wrong. She liked Remus a lot, he was kind, sweet and interesting once you got to know him, not to mention one of the better looking boys in the school. Then there was Sirius. They grew up together and although she forced herself to hate him at school, that was only because he ignored her when they got here. She held grudges long and they stayed strong, but Sirius had a way of charming her, his smile, laugh, his personality and pretty face. She threw herself into her bed and cried herself to sleep. The only thing she could think was where was he? Where was Remus when she needed him. If he had been there, none of this mess would have started. Or maybe it started before she thought it did. Maybe it was there the whole time?


	5. More Tears and Plenty of RunIns

She didn't see him for five more days after the night her confusion set in and now she was overwhelmed with worry. She couldn't stop thinking about him and what she would say to him once she did, or whether he knew or not. Sirius might have said something...

"Aby..."

Asbynthe tilted her head up just slightly. Sirius was looking down at her, smiling as usual. She made a grunting sort of noise and slammed her head back down on the library table.

"I would have thought you'd never set foot in the library," she said softly.

"Well, usually I don't," Sirius said, running his hands through his hair, "but I figured you might be hiding here so I figured it'd be worth it."

"Damn," Absynthe said, rolling her head away from his gaze, "looks as if I'll have to find someplace new..."

"What was that?" Sirius asked.

Absynthe mumbled incoherent words of some sort then suddenly stood up, gathering up her things which she hadn't even touched. She wasn't really hiding from Sirius, she was hiding from many people. Trying to hide from herself really. It seemed as if her common room would be the only place where her friends couldn't really reach her being as they weren't in the same house. Yes, she would head for the Ravenclaw common room and lock herself away in her bed. She brushed passed Sirius and began walking towards the exit.

"Where is it you're going now?" Sirius asked, following close behind.

"To bed." Absynthe said as she continued to walk, this time at a faster pace.

"But Aby, it's only 3 o'clock, why on earth..." Sirius began.

Absynthe swung around suddenly, nearly knocking Sirius to the ground and her temper suddenly flared. "I've told you before Sirius Black to quit calling me Aby. I don't like it and I could care less if that's what you used to call me when we were younger because we're not anymore so stop it. Second, I'm going there to get away from you and everyone else so I'd very much appreciate if you stay exactly where you are while I walk this way." She paused for a moment and began to walk again this time without the sound of someone following her. 'Thank goodness,' she thought and slowed her pace to a slow crawl. She was staring at the floors beneath her feet, paying no particular attention to anything. Just thoughts. Thoughts about Remus and Sirius. She couldn't believe the mess she had gotten herself into. She tried to focus on the what-if's of the situation but then realized it was her own damn fault, really. Now she needed to think of what to say to Remus when she saw him. Part of her was slightly glad that she hadn't seen him in awhile because she hadn't figured out what to say and knew she would be stopped dead in her tracks if she did.

The sound of footsteps were once again behind her. She swung back again, this time ready to strike that bastard for even thinking about following her again, "Dammit Sirius, why is it you never..."

But it wasn't Sirius. "Hello," Remus said. He sounded quite tired, as if he'd been in bed for a long period of time.

"Oh. Sorry, I thought you were... yeah," Absynthe mumbled.

"I'm sorry I haven't seen you in awhile, I've been feeling a bit under the weather and wasn't really allowed to leave bed for anything," Remus said with a kind smile on his face.

Something was wrong and she knew it. It wasn't that he knew what had happened, but she knew something had changed. Not only in her, but in him as well. The spark wasn't fully there as it was before, something was holding it back. She knew why it wasn't there for her, what she had done with Sirius and all the things she had felt with him, but why Remus?

"Happens to the best of us, I suppose," Absynthe said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Are you heading back to your common room?" Remus asked and she nodded, "Well I won't keep you then, I suppose I'll see you tom-"

"No." Absynthe interrupted. "We have to talk now and you know it. I can tell there's something you're not telling me. Something more about being sick, it wasn't just that was it?"

Remus just smiled, "It's not that big of a deal, I promise, but what else was there to talk about."

She started to go red in the face. She was entirely unprepared for this, but then again who was ever prepared for life in general. She started to open her mouth, started to explain but at that moment Lily rounded the corner, in an overly cheerful type of mood and nearly crashed into the two of them.

"Oh! Absynthe, Remus, sorry didn't see you there, I was actually looking for you guys. James said that there was something he needed to discuss with you Remus, I hope it's nothing to do with all that prankster crap Sirius was going on about on the train earlier this year," Lily said, her face getting rather sterner sounding as she went on. "And Absynthe, I hope you're not heading to you common room, I ran into Sirius not too long ago, he's pretty worried about you. Said something about feeling bad for making you cry and dancing with you or something, but he wants to talk with you as well," Lily said, back to her cheery voice.

Absynthe's heart suddenly dropped to the floor as she saw the look on Remus' face when Lily said those last few words. "I..."

Lily interrupted Absynthe, much to her dismay and said the words she could nearly kill Lily for saying in front of Remus, "I hope you didn't kiss him that night, the poor boy's absolutely in love with you and you always act like you hate him."

Absynthe started to clench her fists. It wasn't Lily's fault, really, and Absynthe couldn't blame her for saying all this, after all she never told her anything about Remus. But she couldn't help feeling angry enough to hit her.

"Well, I'd better go find James," Remus said, his voice much more solemn and quieter than usual, yet he still smiled. He turned to walk the other way. Absynthe had no idea what to do. She couldn't just let him walk away after hearing all that with no explanation but he didn't want anyone to know about them being together, or were they really? Even she wasn't sure in her own mind. If thoughts could pile up and burst she was sure her brain would be splattered on the wall by now.

"No," Absynthe grabbed him by the arm and pulled him close to her. She could feel him clench up, as if in pain, but still didn't let go. "It's not what you think, or maybe it is," she could hear herself beginning to talk very fast now, "I was just dancing with him, as friends and something happened, something inside that I shouldn't have felt, but I did and I went crazy in my own head and stepped outside and well, yes I started to cry and he followed me out and kissed me but it didn't really mean anything, oh I'm such a liar, it did but I knew it shouldn't and that's what I needed to talk to you about, "Absynthe was completely in tears now and she knew her probably looked like the worlds biggest fool, yet she kept going, "I just don't know anymore Remus. What are we?"

Absynthe collapsed on the floor in tears. Lily moved suddenly as if to help her up, but Absynthe just pushed her away. She was sure Lily was pretty mad at her right now for not telling her things friends should. Not to mention Remus, who just had all this confusing information hurtled at him. "I'm sorry," she whispered through tears.

Remus bent down on his knees and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not really sure myself, Absynthe. There are some things about myself I haven't really told and still this isn't the time and place to tell you so, I apologize for keeping you in the dark like this but you have to understand I really don't have a choice. And that's not fair to you at all, I realize which is why I can understand why what happened did. Not that it doesn't make me sad to hear all that, but still I can't blame you or Sirius. I suppose we just should have told everyone and this might have never happened," he said, "Or maybe we shouldn't have happened at all."

Absynthe choke on tears and stood up, "Why is it I can't do anything right?" She turned and ran around the corner before anyone could move or say another thing.

Lily stood there completely stunned. How could she not have noticed anything. Of course, now it explains why they both seemed to disappear around the same time and what they were always doing. But still, why hadn't she known, and why hadn't Absynthe said anything. They were good friends after all, "Remus, I had no idea," Lily said.

"Neither did I," Sirius said, stepping from around the corner, "and I'm sorry for all of this. I don't even know what to say, other than I'm sorry that this all started." His face was rather redder than usually as if quite anger, but you could tell he was trying his best to hold back.

"Don't be," Remus said quietly, "It was our own fault, well mine really. I didn't want to say anything to any of you because of- well, Sirius you can guess why."

"That's a stupid reason to keep how you feel quiet and you know it, I suppose you haven't even told her anything have you?" Sirius said raising his voice slightly.

"Of course not, and don't get mad about it, you couldn't understand. You, James and Peter are my best friends, naturally you excepted me, but how could a girl that I like. It's not safe for her anyways," Remus said.

"I'm sorry for intruding, but what on earth are you two babbling about?" Lily demanded, putting her hands to her hips.

"Nothing," Remus and Sirius said simultaneously.

"Nothing my ass," Lily said furiously, "Am I not your friend as well? I don't see why I should be left in the dark about whatever it is you two are talking about and I can't believe you would think I would judge you no matter what you're talking about!"

"You wouldn't understand," Remus said.

"Try me," Lily raised her eyebrow.

Sirius looked at Remus, he was shaking his head slightly completely unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry Remus, but she's right. As much as I think James is an idiot for dating her, Lily isn't a bad person and seeing as she's forced her way into our group, I think she'll understand. Lily, he's a werewolf," Sirius blurted out.

Remus looked down, expecting anything other than what she said, "You're kidding? That's what you've been babbling about, as if I didn't notice before. Geez, I thought it was something important." Lily eased down a bit, "You're such a drama queen for thinking that something like that would bother Absynthe."

Remus smiled slightly but Sirius suddenly looked gloomier at the mention of her name. "I told you so," Sirius said.

"Still," Remus said his face losing its' smile, "It isn't safe and I think it's up to her what happens next. I just don't think it's fair to her at all. I mean, when it comes to her and I. You can tell her if you want, but I'd still rather not and just let it go at this. It's not worth it," Remus finished and slid his hands into his pockets and turned away.

They watched him walk away and both Sirius and Lily stood there in complete silence, unsure of what to say next. Sirius leaned himself against the wall and put his face into his hands.

"I think this is too big of a mess," Sirius mumbled.

"Well," Lily said, "Do you like her?"

Sirius brought his head out of his hands and gave her an odd look as if to say, 'why else would all of this have happened if I didn't?'.

"I mean really like her Sirius as in, more than just a fling because don't think I haven't heard the rumors about you and your million girls," Lily said with a mocking smile on her lips.

"It was more like 25," Sirius said.

Lily laughed for a moment, "Remus is right. You two have gotten yourself into a rather large mess and it really depends on what Absynthe wants to do. That and how much you two really care about her. It probably sucks to hear that, but I'm afraid that's what it comes down to."

Sirius remained quiet for a moment before straightening himself away from the wall, "We should get back you know?"

"Yes," Lily agreed.

The two turned the corner and walked back to their common room in complete silence.


End file.
